Eternal Souls... An Electric Dreams Story

It was only a split second, but it felt like a really long time. Christine's mouth was half open, and I could almost see the spittle tumbling out. One of the dreadlocked guys had his hand on his waist and I could see the shiny metal slowly reveal with a slight movement..

Then involuntarily my own hands moved, and I leaped...

Pixabay
Eternal Souls...

I always knew something was different about my family. From my childhood I believed it, even though my parents tried tirelessly to convince me otherwise.

But it was obvious. First, we weren't the typical family. We seemed to have no roots. We only stayed in a town for as long as it took to recognize our neighbours, and then we're on the move again. We practically lived on the road.

Dad said his job required such constant movements, but he never really did tell me what he did. A vague response of "Your dad's a consultant" was all I'd ever been able to get from him.

I had no friends growing up, and it was no surprise. There wasn't even a chance to have one since I was homeschooled. But I didn't really mind. You only yearn for something if you have an idea of how having that thing feels. I didn't. I only knew the life we had, and it seemed enough.

Until dad died...

I was 17 that year, and fast growing too. The rush of hormones in my blossoming body was beginning to manifest itself in obvious ways. Dad had been my confidante, the one who I had confided in about my strange new experiences.

And all of a sudden, he had died. Heart attack they had said. But I didn't believe them. Not dad, not my own dad. He never was sick since I could remember. He was the strongest person I know, even if I didn't really know a lot of persons. But dad couldn't have succumbed to such.

Mum was devastated, she didn't speak throughout the whole two weeks between dad's death and burial. She only occasionally nodded or shook her head when required. I wondered if she didn't believe the doctor's verdict like myself. But I didn't ask her, I let her grieve.

The burial was small, but for a family like ours I felt it was big. At least ten people I didn't know came to pay their last respects to dad. Most of them were men. They spoke in hushed voices, and one in particular seemed to take too much interest in me. His eyes followed me wherever I went.

"She's probably the one.."

"Andrew was shielding her maybe.."

"The seeker may have found him out.."

I heard them clearly, even though I didn't try to. And they spoke in hushed tones too. But i didn't understand a word of what they said. And none of it meant anything to me. Until years later.

But before that, I met Christine...

She was soft spoken, tender, and she had a pale skin. When she laughed, something reacts in me. Like the tickle of a tulip deep within the tissues of my stomach.

We met a year after dad died. Mum had become a different person following dad's death. She stayed in her room all day, and only ate little. I assumed more responsibilities around the house, and for the first time in all my life, we didn't move residence for a while.

I started getting familiar with my surroundings. I bought groceries and supplies, I borrowed books from the local library, and on the odd occasion I visited the river bank.

It was during one of these odd visits that I had met Christine. She had walked up to me with that twinkle in her eyes, and a dimple on her smile.

"You should take off your shoes. You'll get sand in them."

I had smiled back without knowing why. This was a total stranger after all.

"Oh, thank you."

"I'm Christine."

"Laura."

And we had connected. It had been sudden and unexpected, but it was unmistakable. I felt a certain part of me pulled towards Christine, and she must have felt it too, because the next few years was pure Bliss.

Yet we took it slow. Though we spent almost all our time together, and did almost everything with each other, we somehow managed to hold out on physical intimacy. That is, minus the hugs and sometimes sensual kisses we shared...

Then that night had changed everything...

We had stayed out late after seeing a movie, and we had been walking home, happy in each other's company. It was the first time Christine had been permitted to spend the night with me.

We were both excited and afraid. The atmosphere of that whole day had seemed intoxicated with the knowledge of what that night potentially held in store for us.

But when it eventually did come, it had come in a totally different way.

Out of nowhere they had approached, six of them, all dreadlocked, all with menacing looks. They had surrounded us, and all of a sudden I had noticed how empty the street was, how late into the night we had lingered.

Christine and I clung to each other, we were but two teenage girls. One of the fellows pulled us apart, and when Christine tried to fight back, he landed a blow on her mouth.

Then it all happened...

It was only a split second, but it felt like a really long time. For time stood still. Christine's mouth was half open, and I could almost see the spittle tumbling out. One of the dreadlocked guys had his hand on his waist and I could see the shiny metal slowly reveal with a slight movement..

Then involuntarily my own hands moved, and I leaped...

......∆.....

"Laura..."

"Laura..."

The voice seemed to come from afar. I woke up to find Christine and my mum sitting over me. My mum had a tear in her eyes, and Christine could not have told me she loved me in a better way than the expression she had all over her face.

"What happened?" I managed to say

"You saved me." Christine's eyes twinkled

"But how...?"

Then mum told me...

That once in about seventeen generations, a child is born into our family. That child possesses certain unnatural abilities and is immortal. Over the centuries, it had always been a male child. Until I was born.

"Your dad had known, and he had tried to keep you hidden. And he was killed."

Suddenly it all became clear to me and I understood. I understood why we had moved so much, and why those men at dad's burial had spoken those words they did, and why I had heard them even though no one else did. I knew everything now, even the one who had murdered my father. But one thing still worried me..

"But If I am immortal, what about..."

"Don't worry my love.." and for the first time since dad died I saw my mum smile. "It is said that the blood of a white cat mixed with yours would bind your souls for eternity."

I looked over at Christine. It was inevitable, the joining of our souls.

"Where do we find a white cat at three AM in the morning?" I asked to no one in particular.

"I know where." mum said, as she smiled again and stood up to leave.

I pulled her hand. I still had one more question.

"Should I... Should we...?"

Again she seemed to know exactly what I was about to say, and she waved it away. Even though her husband, my dad had died by his hands...

"He's no matter my love. You have fully blossomed now. He's not worth the effort."

I watched her go, and I placed my hands on Christine's.

And as I closed my eyes I thought of my mum's way of regarding certain things as unimportant. Even something as terrible as the seeker's knowledge of me...

"Floccinaucinihilipilification." Christine muttered.

I smiled, and in my head I whispered...

"Indeed."

She had a soul like mine, and I knew our eternity would be blissful...

THE END

#SladenSpeaks

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Written for @tygertyger's Electric Dreams Contest

I really had fun writing this one. It seemed to have a life of it's own, breathing words into my head as I typed.

I hope you had fun reading. Seasons Greetings to you and yours.😘

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